Thanks to a deft culling of the herd, there are only two Real Housewives of New York left to terrorize the Big Apple and they're being rewarded with a healthy raise. It seems like they're actually going to make some real money now.

We've been hearing whispers for the better part of a week that Kelly Bensimon, Alex McCord,…
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Apparently Ramona Singer and Countess Luann de Lesseps Crackerjacks, the only remaining original housewives now that Jill Zarin and Alex McCord got fired and Bethenny Frankel moved onto her margarita kingdom in the sky—are going to pull in $500,000 for the 18 episodes in season five, a dramatic increase from the $275,000 Bravo paid them for season four. Half a million sure is a lot of dough, but these ladies still aren't bringing in Jersey Shore money.

What's causing a rift is that my girl Sonja Morgan and the new vajazzled cannon fodder aren't making nearly as much as their O.G. counterparts. We've seen these ladies fight over more ridiculous things before, finally they're going to resort to something so crass as squabbling about money.